Ima Made Nando Mo
by Oro-han
Summary: Sasuke returns to Konoha thinking he will be accepted easily back into the village as the Uchiha prodigy, but finds that things aren't so easy. SasuNaruSasu
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Hello everyone! We are Charley and Liz! (Also known on as Orochi-Owns-Me and Chisai Hanyou, but we will be referring to each other as Orochi and DeiDei, if you don't mind. ) 

**Deidara:** Yo! This is my first collaboration on Naruto fanfiction (I've done Fushigi Yuugi, see the account Genjitsu for that), and my first try at the amazing world of... (gasp) yaoi! XD Wish me luck. I usually write heterosexual pairings, but hey, you have to try everything once, don't you? Erm... enjoy?

**Orochimaru: **I've got a Wheel of Time fanfiction out, but I've never posted any of my other work. Hehe. This is my first collaboration fic ever. I'll try and write yaoi without giving myself a nosebleed! Enjoy!

* * *

"The monster cannot be controlled! You think a child can contain the nine tails forever? It is only a matter of time! Naruto will be the death of us all!" Don't let him return to this village, think about your future, your children's future. He corrupts those around him, he's the reason Uchiha Sasuke left. How many others will we lose because of him?" The man leapt onto a pulpit that had been crudely erected in the middle of the square in front of the ninja school, a rather large crowd gathering about the base as the man preached.

"We are supposed to let this creature live among us? We let the ninja train him, let him learn dangerous techniques that he could easily turn against us! You heard what happened when he stole the scroll used by the Yondaime; it was only through brave action that this village was spared the return of the Kyuubi! Do you want to wait, letting that beast live among you, when it could bite the hand that feeds it at any instant?"

There were shouts of agreement from the growing crowd of villagers and ninja alike. A small group of younger ninja were standing near the back, exchanging looks of confusion. They had been returning home from a shared lunch when they had encountered the pseudo-mob, and stopped to investigate. But, what did the fox demon and Naruto have to do with each other?

"What are they talking about Kiba kun, Shino kun?" Worry laced Hinata's voice as she spoke softly, barely audible over the roar of the crowd. She may not have the same crush on Naruto as she used to, but he was a friend and an inspiration that had led her to a better life.

"I'm afraid I don't know." Shino said, Kiba and Akamaru growling in assent. The others each shook their head in turn. Shikamaru muttering something about how troublesome this whole situation was, and how troublesome Naruto was without even being in the village. But that was typical for him.

Neji stepped forward, placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "I'm sure everything will make sense soon, we just need to ask around." He had begun being much kinder to his younger cousin since returning from the failed attempt to retrieve Sasuke. In the past few years Hinata had even began counting her once cold cousin as a friend. Following his own suggestion Neji soon got the attention of a nearby, shouting middle-aged woman. "Excuse me ma'am, what exactly is going on here?"

The woman sneered at him, looking him up and down contemptuously. She obviously didn't know who Neji was. The Hyuuga clan got at least a small measure of respect from anyone that knew them. "You children don't know anything. That boy isn't going to be able to contain the demon, and is going to kill us all; we should have just killed him when we had the chance."

"You mean Naruto?" Neji asked, remaining polite. Those who knew him they could see the woman was grating on his nerves, badly.

"Who else would I mean; he's the only one carrying a demon around here. Oh right, no one ever told any of you. When the nine tails was attacking the village, the Yondaime gave his life to seal the fox's power, and in return we have to live with the demon, harbor it and encourage its growth." The woman sounded absolutely disgusted. "Putting me and my family in danger, I don't want the fox escaping and killing my children in the middle of the night."

Kiba growled, and half leapt at the woman, but was held back with two or three people on each arm. "That's a lie! He may not be the smartest person ever, and he may cause a lot of trouble but that doesn't make him a monster!" The young man had obviously developed a sudden personal problem with the stranger, as evidenced by his snarls and clenched fists.

Spitting, the woman glared at Kiba. "Think what you want, I was there boy. Everyone old enough to remember in the village knows. We all know what that boy truly is." The woman walked off, shouldering her way further into the still growing crowd of shouting people, closer to the man far away on his soapbox.

Kiba brushed the others off of him angrily, turning to walk away from the man spouting obvious nonsense. After a moment the other young ninja followed. Even if it was true and Naruto did have the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, each and every one of them knew first hand that he was no monster.

None of them were aware of the Godaime watching from inside the academy, her mouth set in a grim line as she removed her hand from the window and turn to face the people in the room behind her. Her assistant's face was grave as well as Tsunade began addressing the assemblage of ninja in the room, all those that knew Naruto and supported him. The Hokage paused, gathering herself.

"We need to stop him, before the whole village riots."

* * *

**Orochi: **Well, we got through that okay!

**DeiDei:** But nothing happened! At least, not until the next chapter!

**Orochi:** I wasn't asking you, okay! (fakes tears)

**DeiDei: **That's mean. I'm going to the next chapter now!


	2. Return of the Ice Princess

**A/N:** Chapter 1 is UP! 

**Orochi:** Are things getting hot and heavy yet?

**DeiDei:** It's just the first chapter. How can we put that in so early? >>

**Orochi:** (sniffle) But... I love this pairing!

**DeiDei:** Well guess what! I actually like... (gasp) SASUSAKU!

**Orochi:** Blasphemer...

**DeiDei:** Hehe

* * *

It had been three years since Naruto had last laid eyes on Konoha. So much had changed it seemed, and the village had moved on without him. Every member of his class had been made chuunin, even jounin. He was the only genin left among them. Even though Tsunade had assured him that he was chuunin level, and would no doubt pass the next exam, Naruto still felt a seething anger at being the only remaining genin. Despite knowing, and having faith in his own abilities, it seemed just one more slight Konoha had dealt him, not allowing him to advance in rank along with the rest of his class, all because of the demon he carried within him.

Did they still see the Kyuubi's silhouette shadowing him? Did they still look at him with those hateful eyes and whisper as he passed them by, head hung low? Did the parents hide their children as he walked, did they still tell bedtime stories to them at night about the horrible Kyuubi? Would they ever see him as himself, as Naruto, not just the container of the nine tailed demon fox? Naruto bit his lip and punched the dummy he had set up in the middle of the training field.

His knuckles were red and raw, evidence of his brutal training these past weeks. He had worked himself to exhaustion four times, and Tsunade baachan had promised to personally ban him from the next chuunin exam if he kept it up. But he had nothing else to do. So he trained.

All of his fellow classmates were on missions. High ranking missions available to only those of chuunin rank. And he was a genin, restricted by tradition to missions of rank D and C. Though he had done plenty of missions considered S ranked when dealing with Orochimaru and his Sound ninja, as well as the Akatsuki. But they were quiet now, their dealing being done in secret. The only mission he had been offered in the last week was pulling weeds for a gardener. The dummy took a particularly harsh punch to the face.

Sakura had gone off with Kakashi sensei to deliver herbs to Sunagakure. Gai and his team were off on border patrols. Hinata and Kiba were protecting a noble to the south, and Shino was in the Tea Country, dealing with bugs or something boring like that. Sasuke… well… Sasuke was in Otogakure… with Orochimaru.

Naruto's arms ceased their movements and he leaned against the dummy, shielding his face with one arm. He closed his eyes and sighed, a slight breeze whipping around his and stirring his bright blonde hair. Sasuke was in Otogakure. He had gone to Orochimaru in search of power, the power to defeat Itachi. The power to avenge his clan. The power he needed to beat Naruto.

_"Sasuke was threatened by your power, Naruto, that day on the hospital roof." Kakashi leaned nonchalantly on the wall by Naruto's bedside as he recovered from the wounds his friend had inflicted on him at the Valley of the End. His eyes were blank, and he stared vacantly at the wall._

_"You had grown so much, had become so strong, that when he looked back on his own advancements, they seemed trivial. He felt dwarfed by you. You knew Sasuke, he always needed to be the strongest. But you, you were catching up Naruto, and he couldn't very well let that happen."_

_"It didn't help that Itachi wanted you. Sasuke had dedicated his life to defeating him, but when he was finally face to face with him, he couldn't do a thing. Itachi wanted you, Naruto. He wouldn't even deign to bother killing Sasuke. That was probably the first blow. When the person he had been chasing simply brushed him aside. You were more important to Itachi than Sasuke was."_

_Kakashi had said it all so casually, he could have been discussing pie recipes. Naruto hung his head and turned over, pulling the white sheets over his shoulders and waiting until his sensei had left the room before burying his face in his pillow and letting a soundless scream escape him._

Soft light pressed against his eyelids, bringing him back to consciousness. "Damn it." He grumbled as he tossed one arm over his eyes to block the light. He wasn't willing to get up to go home just yet; a few more minutes to work up the will to stand and then he would be off.

"Finally awake dobe?" A cold voice off to his right asked. Naruto knew that voice, he couldn't forget it if he wanted to; hearing it was just enough to get him on his feet and ready to fight in seconds.

"Sasuke..." It was half question, half statement of fact. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing. There had been some changes over the years though, Sasuke was still taller than he was and now had shoulder length hair, but there was no doubt of who it was.

Sasuke's arms dropped from their folded position to his sides as he moved away from the tree he had been leaning against. He took a few steps closer but didn't make any move to attack. "I was wondering how long you were going to sleep; I've been waiting for over three hours. You've gotten lazier." His self satisfied smirk did nothing to lighten the sting of the words.

"What… Why…?" Naruto floundered for words. After lying awake every night and running through what he would say to Sasuke when he found him, every line had deserted him it seemed. His former friend's smirk mocked him as he stood there, unable to even form a coherent sentence.

Tsunade baachan had kept him from going after him, so had Ero sennin, and now that he was here he didn't know what to do.

Acting on his first instinct he moved to attack, only to be stopped short as something was tossed into his arms. It was Sasuke's tool bag with his kunai, wires, scrolls, and other ninja gear. "What?"

"As much fun as it would be to kick your ass dobe, it would be working against what I want." For an unarmed ninja, as unarmed as any ninja could be, Sasuke seemed completely relaxed.

"What do you want?" Naruto found his voice again, his hands clutching Sasuke's tool bag so hard his knuckles turned white. He tried to keep his voice steady, but the look in the Uchiha's eyes told him his voice betrayed him. Three years ago he would have been laughing and joking. But, three years ago was an entire different world. Sasuke had abandoned that time, that life.

"I want power." Sasuke answered simply, as calm as if he hadn't walked away from his friends, from Konoha all those years ago. He acted like he still had a place here.

"That's what you left for! You left because Orochimaru offered you power!" Naruto burst, throwing Sasuke's tool bag to the ground as his emotions overtook him. "You left-" Naruto had to stop himself. You left me for Orochimaru's power.

"I got stronger faster when I was here, and I realized that after the cursed seal he could offer very little. Also, it occurred to me that if I kill Itachi with the power I get from Orochimaru it's like I didn't kill him at all. He will die by my hands and my power, as things are, I can't do that." The way the taller boy said it, it just all seemed so logical, so obvious. He found himself having a hard time not seeing things Sasuke's way, it pissed him off more.

"So you think you can just come back whenever the hell you want? Mister Uchiha prodigy is so good that he can just go from traitor and missing ninja to the village star in the blink of an eye? The village may worship the ground your talented feet walk on, but Tsunade no baachan isn't that stupid, she just won't let you come back." He had started yelling without meaning to.

Sasuke didn't seem fazed by anything Naruto was saying. He stood there, oblivious as Naruto's words cut through him. The missing nin's eyes were steady, as coal black as they had always been, with the exception of when they turned red with the power of the Sharingan. Naruto slowly stopped talking, letting his arms fall to his side. He slumped down to a crouch on the ground, closing his eyes briefly.

All of his memories of Sasuke returned, washing over him, enveloping him. When they first became a cell, cell seven, together with Sakura. When he'd accidentally kissed Sasuke the first day. How they trained, how they fought. He saw Sasuke taking Haku's senbon, standing to protect him. He remembered Sasuke's smirks, his taunts. He remembered when Sasuke left him. The other boy had been his greatest rival… and his best friend.

"Fine… I'll take you to the Hokage's office…"

* * *

"I ask that you let me become a ninja of Konohagakure again, I will accept any conditions." Sasuke stated calmly. The situation was anything but calm. When Naruto had brought him in ANBU had appeared from nowhere. Shortly after a furious Tsunade had both of them brought to her office. Then after a brief, shouted explanation, Naruto had been told to wait outside the room. Leaving him here to deal with this alone, not that it bothered him, Naruto had done his part.

He stood, his posture relaxed, though he was well aware of the ANBU members waiting outside of the room should he try anything, watching Tsunade sigh and take a sudden interest in the paper work on her desk. One of the papers seemed particularly interesting and a smile hinting that she had just got an idea spread across her face.

"There are only two conditions; first, you will be exempt from the chuunin exams for the next two years." He nodded as she spoke, his rank didn't really mean much to him.

* * *

Why did Tsunade no baachan want him to wait; he was hungry and wanted to go and sleep. The sun had set almost half an hour ago. What where they talking about in there?

He walked up to the tall doors, fist raised to knock, when it was yanked open by an angry Sasuke who pulled him inside and closed the door again.

He stood, blinking, looking from the fuming Sasuke to a slightly frustrated Tsunade. "Tsunade no baachan...?"

She was sifting through papers on her desk, double checking whatever decision she had just made. "I've decided to let Sasuke rejoin the village."

He opened and closed his mouth, trying to come up with what exactly he wanted to say. "W... WHAT? JUST LIKE THAT?" He was going to say more, then remembered how Sasuke had reacted and how pissed off the other boy seemed. "What else did you do?"

"I set two conditions; the first isn't important and Sasuke can tell you if he wants to." A glance at the older boy told him he would have no such luck. "The second is why I called you back in here." Tsunade no baachan's eyes met his, completely serious. "He can't be trusted on his own just yet, there is still a flight risk, he could be a spy, or any other number of unpleasant things. Simply put, he needs to be under constant surveillance. The problem is that anyone qualified for this is on or needed for important missions." She gestured to the papers she had just finished looking over.

What did any of this have to do with him? Squinting and tilting his head to the side in thought, he went over the information she had just given him again. "I don't get it."

"In short, this is at least an A ranked, possibly even a borderline S ranked mission if everything Sasuke has told me is true. So we need someone with the proper skills to watch over him twenty four seven. There is only one person I can think of."

"You just said everyone who qualifies can't take this mission, so who gets stuck with the bastard?" Even so he felt a satisfied grin spreading across his face, hopefully Sasuke would get stuck with a member of his fan club; he had known Tsunade no baachan wouldn't let him down.

"You do." She stated simply. "You may only be genin rank, but out of everyone in the village you know him and his strengths best, that includes Kakashi and Sakura. There isn't anyone who can say you're not qualified, and without a full team this is the mission of such a high rank I can offer you until you advance." He had tried to get a few words in as she spoke but she just kept talking right over him.

His mouth snapped shut as the emphasis on the last sentence hit him, what she had been saying. "Sakura may have been able to become a chuunin without a team, but they won't let you no matter what I do to convince them, this is your way out."

He understood why Sasuke was so pissed now. "So I have to baby sit him? How is that going to work, I can't watch him all of the time."

Tsunade no baachan sighed, telling him that she wasn't very happy about the circumstances either. "It's not like I want to do this, but it's that or he stays a missing ninja, and you know what will happen if that's the case." She explained. "We don't want a repeat of last time, and I will do anything in my power to make sure we don't get one. It won't be all bad, Sasuke knows what will happen if he leaves your company and is willing to face those consequences. And he only has to be within thirty yards, so it's not like you have to hold hands. The only thing you need to do is submit a bi-weekly report."

"Wait a minute; you said 'thirty yards'? That means we'll have to share an apartment." He didn't even bother to try and keep the cringe off his face. They may have been friends once, but what were they now? Sasuke had come to him to bring him here, but Naruto had just been in the right place at the right time; Sasuke would have used Sakura or Ino just as quickly.

Sasuke's cold voice came from behind him. "I don't like it either dobe, but it's that or nothing. We can use the Uchiha residence; if I remember the state of your apartment correctly it's not sanitary living conditions, let alone room for two people. Plus the mansion is big enough that we won't have to see each other that often."

"Look Naruto, I will pull some strings and by the time you've finished this mission I will make sure you are a chuunin, no exam and no questions asked. I give you my word as Hokage."

That convinced him, if nothing else. He shouted his joy and hopped around the room, regardless of Sasuke's presence. An ominous voice in the back of his head warned him he would regret this later.

* * *

**DeiDei:** So... you know you want to review, right? 

**Orochi:** It's a moral imperitive.

**A/N: **Much love to our beta! Whose screename has... momentarily escaped us. But... we love you!We promise to credit you... when we remember your screename..


	3. Living With Him

**A/N:** And here it is! The second chapter! And... we forgot the disclaimer, so we'll say it now! We do not, in any way, shape, or form. Own Naruto! However, they do own us. And we own their merchandise. Behold the shrine!

**DeiDei:** Well, this is going swimmingly!

**Orochi:** I don't recall anything about swimming being in this chapter.

**DeiDei:** That was a metaphor, I believe. Or a euphanism, or something like that.

**Orochi:** Oh. And thanks for the reviews everyone!

**DeiDei:** Yes! We really appreciate it! Now, on to the stuff!

* * *

Naruto found there was something about spending nearly every waking minute in Sasuke's company that made him wanted to kill the older boy. It seemed like nothing had changed in the almost three years it had been, he was still a bastard who thought he was better than everyone else.

When he had told Sasuke to stop being an arrogant bastard and stop looking down his nose at everybody the older boy had replied "I'm not looking down my nose at anyone, you're just short." The fist fight that had followed left both of them bruised and sore for days. Sasuke was still limping slightly after he had fully recovered; the bastard got what he deserved.

That wasn't the worst of it either, on the first day they had had to clean the entire place. Who knew that anywhere could get so dirty without people having stepped foot inside for years? By the time they were done he was nearly as tired as he got from training and all of his joints were stiff from being on his hands and knees scrubbing floors. It had sucked.

Then there was Sakura chan and the rest of Sasuke's little fan club. As soon as they had word that he was back they all came over to faun all over him. Just remembering made him want to throw up. Sakura chan hadn't shown that much interest in him in the entire time he had been back from his training, but she would spend every waking minute with the cold hearted bastard who had turned her away in the cruelest way possible. He wasn't going to give up though, if only he could find a way to be alone with her, like a date or something; damn this stupid mission.

His thoughts returned to the present. Dragging himself from bed about three weeks after Sasuke had returned, Naruto padded heavily across the hall towards the bathroom. He passed Sasuke's room on the way, the bedroom directly beside his own. The angsty little prick had insisted on taking Itachi's old room, leaving Naruto to take Sasuke's childhood bedroom. The master bedroom down the hall lay empty.

Reaching the bathroom, Naruto opened the door and shut it behind him, rubbing his eyes sleepily. The sound of water and the heat of steam suddenly assaulted the boy's senses, as well as the sharp thwack of a scrub brush hitting the side of his head.

"Get the fuck out of my bathroom, dobe!" Sasuke shouted, sticking his head out of the shower, water running down from his hair into his eyes and down his bare chest. Naruto stared for a moment, nothing registering in his sleep deprived brain.

"I said, get the fuck out of my bathroom, Naruto!" Sasuke repeated, glowering. It suddenly hit Naruto where he was, and he bolted from the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him. That was the third time this week he had walked in on Sasuke in the shower. He had to start using the second closest bathroom instead.

Stomping angrily, though he knew most of it was embarrassment, back down the hall he went to the second bathroom. Normally he wouldn't be up this early, but it was just too weird living in Sasuke's house for him to sleep, that and today they had to go shopping. He didn't really see why, there was plenty of ramen in the house still.

He hated going into the village with Sasuke, this was going to be a long day.

* * *

With as crowded as the streets were they had to stick close to each other to make sure that neither wandered too far from the other, and the conditions of Sasuke's re-instatement had been announced at the very beginning as to not cause a panic . There hadn't been any sort of panic, but a lot of anger. Even now Naruto could feel glares directed his way from people he had never even spoken to, he knew why they were glaring too, and he just hoped that they remembered the Sandaime's law.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity as he walked beside Sasuke down the streets of Konoha. If he closed his eyes he could almost imagine that Sakura chan and Kakashi sensei were there too, like the four of them had been three years ago. But when he opened his blue eyes, reality returned.

Kakashi and Sakura had returned from their mission the last week, and Kakashi had taken Sasuke thirty feet away for a talk. Naruto had been distracted by Sakura, but he wished he had paid more attention to the other two, because Sasuke had been mad for a week after that.

Naruto was suddenly drawn from his thoughts by the sight of an orange being thrust into his face. Sasuke stood in front of a fruit stall, looking like an old wife carrying that rickety shopping basket of his. He thrust the orange into Naruto's face again, a sour look on his face.

"I said, do you like oranges, dobe?" Naruto was silent for a moment, before crossing his arms and making a face.

"I like ramen better." He sniffed. Sasuke sighed and bought five oranges. And three apples… and some strawberries… and six tomatoes.

"Since when did you become such a health nut?" Naruto asked. Sasuke only smirked. The older boy turned away once more to continue on this ridiculous quest for 'not ramen'. Sasuke's next stop was the butchers to pick out some kind of meat, he didn't really care what it was; he wasn't going to be eating it. Maybe they should take a quick detour to his apartment to pick up the other half of the ramen they hadn't been able to bring in the last three trips.

Then again going to his apartment might not be a good idea, since he had returned to the village from his training he found the place trashed at least once a week; threats and grotesque messages painted on his walls, his cloths torn to shreds, windows broken. He was just glad that Sasuke hadn't seen it in that state, he would never be able to live it down and he sure as hell wasn't going to explain why it was like that. The ramen would just have to sit there.

He was brought out of his thoughts a second time by a sharp slap to the head from Sasuke. "Stupid bastard; what did you do that for?" He practically yelled as he rubbed the side of his head. Why did it have to be him that had to suffer the arrogant prick? If this was a joke on Tsunade no baachan's part, it wasn't funny. "Can't you just do your shopping and leave me out of it."

"If you would pay attention the first three times I wouldn't have to hit you dobe." Was the too calm reply, pissing him off more. "Any way, I said I need to go to the book store; is there anything you wanted while we are still here?"

"No there isn't, lets just hurry up and go, I don't want to be seen with you any longer than I have to be." Bringing his arms up he glared off to one direction, he hated this so much.

"Look at that little ruffian, trailing after the Uchiha like that." A woman said, not even bothering to lower her voice. Naruto kept his head high, speeding up so that he was level with Sasuke, pretending not to hear the whispers as they passed others with the same opinions.

He wondered when it had happened. Three years ago he thought he was just beginning to earn their respect. Everyone didn't glare and hide their children when he passed. A few people he saw regularly would smile, laughing and speaking with him. But somehow, after he had gone away to train, things had returned to the way they were before. He never had figured out why, Tsunade wouldn't say a thing, always changing the subject, but he knew there was something more to it than that.

So absorbed in his thoughts, again, Naruto didn't see the heavy boot that intercepted his feet. With a muffled gasp of surprise he began to fall, the man who had tripped him continuing to walk on by. Bracing himself, he was confused to find his fall halted. Looking up, he saw Sasuke standing beside him, his hand grasping his upper arm, a last minute catch. Naruto blinked.

"Watch where you're going, dobe." Sasuke said condescendingly, picking him up and placing him back on his feet. He laughed it off, muttering something about how clumsy he was. He let the man who tripped him keep on walking, smiling and laughing. That was what he always did. It was what he would always do. People had their reasons, and even if he didn't like it, they were justified. "I've never met a ninja as clumsy as you are, how you made it this far is beyond me."

"Not everyone can be as graceful as a princess Sasuke chan." He snapped back, he wasn't clumsy and even if it hadn't been his fault that he tripped no one was perfect. "Hurry up and get whatever stupid book you were going to get so we can go back." Still he could feel a slight tinge of pink in his cheeks from embarrassment, ninja really shouldn't trip.

* * *

Sasuke had ignored what he had seen and heard when they were in town, but it sparked his interest. Had people always acted like that towards Naruto, he didn't think so, but as he thought back most everyone had been a little disdainful to the annoyance. He just couldn't remember it being so obvious; and he couldn't figure out why Naruto acted like nothing happened when that man had obviously stuck his foot out.

The idiot in question was in the kitchen making ramen, and probably a mess to go along with it. Naruto didn't seem to be capable of much anything without making a mess of it, in the literal and metaphorical context. He could hear some odd noises even from here in his room, he just hoped that he had a kitchen by the time Naruto was finished.

With a sigh he returned his attention back to the book he had bought earlier; he had been on this same page for the last ten minutes, so much for reading taking his mind off things. What Kakashi had said to him still had his blood boiling. What would Kakashi understand about the things he did; he made his own decisions and the jounin had no reason to concern himself with them. He doubted Kakashi would be out of the hospital now if he didn't have all these restrictions on him. The thought brought him full circle, back to Naruto, why was it Tsunade had done what she had and then told him not to tell the dobe?

Tsunade made the conditions for the chuunin exam very clear, but he was unfazed, having been expecting as much. What came next, however, was like a blow to the head with Lee's taijutsu.

_...Calming down visibly Tsunade sat once more. "Good, tell Naruto to come in then." _

Naruto had alot to do with what was going on, but he just couldn't figure out what. "What kind of trouble are you causing for me dobe?"

* * *

**A/N:** Mad love to our beta, AnimeFan101! We love you!


	4. Backtracking

**A/N:** Chapter Three! O-M-G!

**DeiDei:** Wai! I got to write a fight scene! I love writing fight scenes!

**Orochi:** I love Kakashi sensei.

**DeiDei: **You love all bishis!

**Orochi:** Too true.

**DeiDei:** Well... I guess I can't talk, can I?

**Orochi:** Not really...

**DeiDei:** No... hides Gaara plushie

**Orochi:** And thanks to all reviewers! Much love!

* * *

Kakashi sensei had come by earlier that morning to see him and Sasuke; for the most part it was normal, but he could feel the sparks of anger between him and Sasuke as the three had talked. Then Kakashi sensei had spoken to each of them alone, he didn't have a clue what his former teacher had said to Sasuke but the message he got was really weird.

_"Naruto, Tsunade sama asked me to tell you something." Kakashi sensei said after pulling him out of ear shot of Sasuke. "She doesn't want you to use any new or advanced jutsu around Sasuke, concerning a certain acquaintance of yours. She didn't tell me what exactly she meant, but she said that it had to do with your recent training with Jiraiya sama. And you demonstrated some interesting things, when we had that training session when you returned, that I agree would be better if Sasuke didn't know about." His eyes widened and he nodded in understanding; he hadn't thought of how Sasuke might react to seeing jutsu that there should be no way he could know let alone perform._

_"I understand Kakashi sensei." He guessed that meant Tsunade no baachan thought that Orochimaru didn't tell Sasuke about the Kyuubi. Kakashi sensei nodded and ruffled his hair, he didn't know how he was always able to tell when his former teacher was smiling._

_"Well I just need to talk to Sasuke about something and then I have to go."_

Like the last time Kakashi sensei and Sasuke had spoken, Sasuke had been pissed off about whatever Kakashi sensei had had to say.

* * *

Up and dressed at dawn Sasuke was more than ready for when Tsunade sama and Kakashi would arrive. He was confidant and relaxed, eating a big breakfast and actually able to concentrate on his book. As expected, Naruto wasn't even awake by the time they arrived, and they left without a word spoken between them; he would probably be back here again before Naruto's stomach woke him, and the dobe would never know what had happened.

The walk was short, and Sasuke found himself in the middle of the large clearing facing Kakashi, just over twenty feet between them. Sasuke smirked. The perverted jounin was leaning against a tree, one of his books open.

Tsunade held up a hand. Dangling there was a shuriken pouch and a kunai holster. Sasuke knew at a glance that there were not his own, but a quick examination of the weapons as he strapped them into place revealed that they were well-made and nicely balanced. A little on the plain side, but perfectly serviceable for the task at hand.

"Remember," Tsunade said as she retreated to one side, "for this fight only will I allow you to use whatever jutsu you please." She stopped, and favored him with a glare harder than stone and colder than the arctic wastes. "If you attempt to leave this training ground, you will be killed." Her eyes suddenly became wickedly amused. "So have a good fight, ok?"

Sasuke glared for a moment at her as she took a seat and accepted a small saucer of sake from her assistant. _Stupid woman. _The conditions grated, but a fight with Kakashi…

Sasuke faced his former sensei with eagerness. Pounding Kakashi into the ground would prove just how far he'd come in his quest.

"Begin!" Shizune called from the side.

"I suppose you think you've learned a few things, have you?" Kakashi's voice was condescending, his gaze level and steady. Sasuke smirked, confidence evident in every motion. His hands were itching to reach for the shuriken holster that had regained its place on his belt, or to again feel the electric crackle of the chidori on his palm, but he wouldn't exactly miss a chance to verbally abuse Kakashi either.

"I haven't been gone this long for nothing, Kakashi." He intentionally left off the honorific, letting his former teacher know that he now considered them equals. The jounin was unfazed, but then again, he never expected him to be.

"Of course not, Sasuke. I'm sure you've learned a few things. The question you should be asking yourself is whether I have learned anything in these three years as well. I haven't exactly been sitting around knitting, you know." Kakashi smiled, leaning forward a little. "Did you learn any useful scarf patterns in Otogakure, Sasuke kun? Maybe we can trade needle stitches?"

Sasuke stubbornly refused to rise to the bait, his own brain whirling as he sought a suitable come back. Wait – Kakashi's summons… "Well, you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks," he began. "Perhaps I could teach you some of the things I learned from Orochimaru. There's this interesting tongue jutsu, and another I'm quite fond of involves kunai in the most unpleasant places."

He kept his hands in his pockets, not letting himself betray his eagerness to fight with his former teacher. The man had been his tutor, had taught him much. But now was time for him to prove himself. Beating Kakashi, even with his one Sharingan eye, brought him that much closer to defeating Itachi, who had remained underground for quite some time now.

"Enough of the child's play, Sasuke," Kakashi suddenly said, his eye narrowing, becoming deadly serious. Sasuke smirked.

"I'm so scared," Sasuke replied smoothly, running a hand through his hair nonchalantly. He shot a look in the Godaime's direction. She had her arms crossed over her plentiful bust, her assistant standing behind her holding that bizarre pig. Apparently, she was waiting for him to actually start his fight.

Turning back to Kakashi, Sasuke noticed that his teacher had resumed reading his perverted book, completely ignoring his former student. A wave of anger swept over him. Did the jounin really think he was that good? A flexing of the chakra in his legs hurtled Sasuke toward the taller man so fast he seemed to have teleported. His fist, however, passed harmlessly through his sensei's head as it turned into smoke.

Bunshin! And not Kage Bunshin, either. What was Kakashi doing, playing at this? This was a serious fight!

"Oy, Sasuke. You're too eager." The aforementioned ninja swiveled quickly, carefully reaching out to sense his opponent's chakra. "Besides, there's no way that I would let the fight end so easily. You abused the jutsu I taught you, used it in a way that I specifically told you was forbidden - you used it against another member of your village."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and just barely refrained from pointing out that he was no longer a Konoha ninja by the time he'd reached the Valley he'd fought Naruto in. After all, he was trying to get stronger, and bringing up his defection so blatantly in front of the Hokage was a sure ticket to delaying him even more.

"You're not even using the Sharingan," Kakashi continued, either ignoring or not noticing Sasuke's anger at the reminder of the time he'd called the Uchiha "childish." "How can you expect to beat me, or Itachi for that matter, without it?"

"You want the Sharingan, fine," Sasuke all but spat. At the mere thought, he felt the shifting of senses that heralded the emergence of the mirror-wheel eye. Every blade of grass came into perfect focus, every movement that his teacher would make became glaringly obvious. Smirking, he charged again, and delivered a hard thrust-kick to Kakashi's side.

The jounin twisted easily, avoiding one blow only to line himself up with a strike directly into his face. Sasuke registered a slight burst of chakra that was the Kawarimi, and let his punch follow through naturally. Trying to pull it at this late stage would throw him off balance.

Within a moment, Kakashi had repositioned himself directly to Sasuke's right, and what followed was a series of moves too fast to be seen with the naked eye, kicks and punches flying between the two, all blocked before the next could commence. But suddenly, the older man had disappeared.

Sasuke turned his head wildly, his eyes widening. He hadn't seen his teacher move. But he couldn't help but grin as he felt the ground shift slightly beneath his feet. Kakashi really was comparable to an old dog.

He easily flipped out of the way as the ground broke beneath his feet, Kakashi emerging seconds after. The world was in vertigo for a moment until he came to a stop, switching instinctively to a defensive posture in case of bunshins Kakashi might have left lying around.

A solid blow that would have connected with his head he blocked easily by bringing up his left arm and letting it bear the brunt of the blow. He then dropped to his hands and moved fluidly into a sweeping kick, only a moment too slow, for he saw his teacher's feet move out of range just in time.

Pivoting smoothly, he sprung back onto his feet, reaching into his shuriken holster and letting loose a barrage of the small weapons in Kakashi's direction. The older man let loose weapons of his own, and he watched as they collided in midair and clattered to the ground.

With a grunt Kakashi took a blow to his knee from a kick, but returned the favor by catching the younger boy squarely in the chest with the flat of his wrist. The two of them broke away, their eyes locking for a single instance before they both turned on their heels, racing parallel each other, both grasping their arms as the characteristic sound of chirping birds filled the air. His feet pounded rhythmically in time with his teacher's as both of their Chidoris charged. Almost as one, they switched to the offensive, bringing their hands together, the electric jolt sending both of them flying in opposite directions.

Kakashi quickly gathered himself and rematerialized to his right, and the next few minutes were a blur of punches, blocks, and counter-moves. Sasuke found himself in the odd position of not making any progress at all.

His punches were blocked, avoided, or redirected entirely. His kicks were either off-target completely or, in one case, used against him when Kakashi grabbed his leg and performed a Gai-esque twist that sent the Uchiha flying into a nearby tree.

Sasuke picked himself up off the ground and wiped away a trickle of blood from his lips. How could he be losing? He'd trained under some of the hardest task-masters Orochimaru had and he couldn't even touch his teacher - even though his teacher was still not fighting at his best.

Making a decision, he pulled back, and motioned for a moments rest. Kakashi nodded easily and settled into a light defensive stance as Sasuke glanced over to where Tsunade and Shizune sat. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance. The women were sipping sake and making idle moves on a portable shogi board one of them had brought.

"Tsunade…sama!" Sasuke called, just barely remembering to tack on the honorific. It wouldn't do to antagonize the woman who could give Orochimaru a fair run for his money - especially as Sasuke had never once seen her in battle, and thus had no idea how to counter any of her moves. When the blonde woman turned to him, idly quirking a brow herself, Sasuke continued. "You said anything goes, right?" At the affirmative nod, Sasuke tugged at his left shoulder. "What about this?"

"Sasuke." The sudden interruption from Kakashi brought him around immediately. Sasuke watched as Kakashi tapped his hitai-ate, referring to the single Sharingan the elder jounin bore. "Use the Seal if you must. But I will use this in response. I can see into your future, Sasuke." Kakashi brought out two kunai and twirled them skillfully around his gloved fingers.

"I foresee your defeat." Sasuke finished for the jounin, remembering when Kakashi had spoken the same words to Zabuza on their team's first real mission, when he had first realized how much power he had yet to claim before he could be the best. Pulling out a kunai of his own, Sasuke ran forward and leapt at the jounin, slashing his kunai in a sweeping arc that was easily knocked aside. Kakashi made a slow jab, almost as if he were just covering for something. The Sharingan revealed no such trap. With a small cry of triumph, Sasuke redirected his kunai and scored a long cut down the jounin's chest, blood welling to the surface though a deeper wound was hard to make with the flak jacket in the way.

Sasuke allowed himself to grow a little cocky as the blood dripped from his kunai, but looking up, he was caught by Kakashi's mismatched eyes. When had he uncovered the Sharingan? The jounin showed no signs of pain, instead he leapt back, his hands flying through a series of seals.

A sense of déjà vu overwhelmed the Uchiha as mist began creeping all around him, shrouding the battlefield and all his surroundings in a blurring cover. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. After the man's failed attempt at an underground attack, he doubted he would try that again, so Sasuke instead concentrated on the air above him. That was his first mistake.

The dogs that burst from the ground beneath his feet latched onto his limbs, their canine teeth ripping through the black fabric of his clothing and tearing through his skin, causing blood to suddenly begin leaking from bite wounds all across his arms and legs. He froze, his muscles stiffening as he gathered his chakra to break away.

"You're forgetting one of the most important rules of being a ninja, Sasuke." Kakashi's voice echoed through the mist, making it unable to be traced. For all he knew, the older man could have been right behind him.

"You have to remember your past fights, remember and learn from your experiences. You're too quick to move on, to continue getting stronger, that you neglect the basics. You shun the long road, opting for the shorter path. But no pain, no gain Sasuke kun." That was when Sasuke finally decided to unleash his curse seal.

The seal's power crept over his body like being hit by water that was both freezing and boiling, first seizing up his muscles and then relaxing them to a point at which he could barely stand. It passed however, as the seal's tendrils crept farther across his body. This was accompanied by a sensation he likened to having the tips of someone's nails dragged leisurely across one's skin. It was quite… unnerving, yet strangely erotic at the same time. But power was often unnerving, or at least unsettling. It was the price one had to pay.

He felt his skin darkening, watched his nails elongate and his hair turn white. He felt the grotesque wings bursting forth from his shoulder blades and his chakra level double. He felt his own power.

Sasuke launched himself at Kakashi, tearing himself from the jaws of the summoned canines. The jounin swept to one side like water in a tilted bowl, right into Sasuke's second strike. Just like he'd planned.

At least, up to the point where Kakashi shifted back to his original stance, now that all the power had been shifted to the other arm. With nearly no power behind the arm now hanging almost limply before Kakashi's chest, Sasuke could only stare in shock as the silver-haired man grasped it and flung him full strength into a boulder.

The dark-skinned Uchiha barely managed to twist and use the rock to springboard himself back into the battle. Warily now, but with no less power, he attacked again and again.

Only to find that Kakashi was never where the Sharingan swore he should be when a blow passed through the air.

"How!" Sasuke howled in rage as he twisted a quick seal or three into a small fireball not three feet from Kakashi's back. The first time in this whole messed-up insane fight that he'd actually managed to get behind his former sensei.

The heat-based chakra soared through the air that the jounin's body no longer occupied, and Sasuke caught the retaliatory kick right in the stomach. Coughing, he rolled away and lunged to his feet, summoning up a chidori even as he did so.

Kakashi shook his head. "I was young enough on gaining my Sharingan that I was able to train against several members of the Uchiha family. I learned as much as I could from them. You can not win this battle." His voice was final, even as he stared into the blazing blue light of his own original jutsu.

With a cry of rage, Sasuke lunged forward, fully intent on showing this arrogant ninja just what he was made of.

Kakashi blurred to one side, and Sasuke stared in horror as his momentum carried him right past the jounin, only to come to a complete halt when Kakashi's hand smacked down on his forearm.

Just like Itachi had.

"I made that jutsu, Sasuke. I know all its weaknesses."

Pain exploded through his body as Kakashi switched from defense to offense in a heartbeat. Lines of fire stitched their way up his arms, down his legs, and across his belly in time with lighting fast strikes of an expertly wielded kunai as it tore his flesh. There was one moment when Sasuke thought he could pull away from the offensive blows, and a surge of renewed confidence swept through him as he escaped from the jounin's kunai range.

That is, until he felt the wire slip around his neck and haul him backwards. His breath cut short, he slammed into a tree, watching in horror as the familiar wire trussed him up as neatly as it had three years ago.

Kakashi was standing in front of him, his hitai-ate once again covering his Sharingan eye. Despite his struggling, Sasuke could not free himself, the sharp wire cutting into his skin the harder he struggled. He snarled, anger rising in him even as his curse seal began to fade and Kakashi started to walk away.

"Oh, and by the way, Sasuke…" Kakashi began, stopping and half turning. "Just so you know, Naruto beat me a week after he got back from his training." With that, Kakashi was gone.

When he quit struggling, Shizune came over and cut the wires, freeing him. She moved to heal his wounds but Tsunade sama stopped him. "If you do that he won't learn from his mistakes, let him heal naturally, after all he hasn't sustained anything life threatening."

Sasuke removed the pouch of weapons from his belt and let it drop to the ground. "I'm going back home now."

Tsunade nodded, "All the restrictions are back in effect as soon as you get back to your house, and I expect you to head straight back." It wasn't like he had any other choice, he was well aware of the ANBU near by, always watching his every move. He felt their eyes on him all the way back home, finally able to shut them out with the shutting of his front door.

* * *

"Sasuke." Naruto's voice assaulted his ears, drowning out the steady dripping of his blood hitting the floor, and he felt his eyebrow twitch; why now? "Where were you? Didn't Tsunade no baachan say you had to... What in hell happened!"

"It's nothing." Naruto was the last person he wanted to see right now, more than even Kakashi. There was no way he could believe the dobe had surpassed him, it just wasn't possible. He would admit that Naruto was strong; he had come to terms with that long ago; but that strong, stronger than even Kakashi who beat him by so much? It just wasn't possible.

He moved forward, walking past Naruto without looking at him. An orange clad arm reached out and grabbed his own sending a bolt of pain through the injuries that couldn't be seen through his shirt. "Let me go."

"No; is this what happens to you if you go more than thirty yards? If it is, I'm going to Tsunade right now and putting a stop to this." The anger in Naruto's voice was cold and clear, not the loud brash angry he was used to, it wasn't often Naruto got like this. The only reason his 'babysitter' was angry was because he was so weak and got beat up for it.

"Stay out of it, this doesn't concern you." He yanked his arm out of Naruto's grasp, but the sudden action sent a wave of dizziness over him and set the room to spinning. He didn't even realize he was falling until Naruto caught him.

"You're losing a lot of blood; shit, where do you keep medical supplies?" Naruto sounded frantic, but his voice was fading. "Hey, stay awake. Bastard I will kill you myself if you fall asleep now."

"Shut up, I'm not going to fall asleep." The truth was he wanted to, his chakra was completely drained; how had it taken him until now to notice? "It's in the kitchen, third cupboard from the door."

When he awoke, he found himself in a room he had never wanted to see again. Closing his eyes again, he tried to blot out the sight of his parent's bedroom. It was a room he had never been allowed in when he was a child, but now that he was older it only brought him painful memories. He usually kept the door closed, but he couldn't even remember what had happened after he had told Naruto where the medicine was.

"Sasuke… are you awake?" Naruto's voice drew him once again to the realm of the conscious, opening his eyes once again and this time staring into Naruto's concerned face. Sasuke groaned.

"Ugh, get out of my face, dobe." Naruto's expression quickly changed from concerned to miffed, and he made a face, backing up and crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's a fine thing to say to someone who just saved you from bleeding to death all over the floor!" Naruto protested, scooting back the chair he had drawn up close to the bed Sasuke was laying on.

Surprised, he finally took the time to notice that all of the bites on his limbs, many of them quite deep, and been skillfully bandaged. Had Naruto done those? Surely not. He had learned that Sakura was now a medical ninja, perhaps Naruto had panicked and called her to tend to his wounds. But if that was the case, he was sure the girl would still be here.

"Naruto…" He began, his voice full of skepticism. "Did you bandage these?" Naruto nodded, his mood once again changing to something that looked like pride in his work.

"Yeah! I asked Sakura chan to teach me, and she said I was good at it!" The other boy was so excited over such a little thing that it almost made him sick. Rolling over to face the wall, he tried not to wince as he disturbed the still tender wounds.

"Yeah, that's real nice, dobe. Now get out." Naruto made an unidentifiable noise that sounded annoyed. Not like he cared if Naruto was annoyed, the boy was annoying enough himself.

"Not until you tell me what happened." Naruto said, picking up the chair and moving it to the other side of the bed so that he once again faced Sasuke. Frustrated, the he rolled over once again, continuing to abuse his bitten flesh.

"It's none of your business, dobe." He muttered, his ego more bruised and battered than his body was. He was still wrestling with the concept that Naruto had beaten Kakashi. It seemed absolutely impossible. There was no way it could be true. He knew he had grown stronger while with Otogakure, but now that he had returned to Konoha, all it seemed was that he had grown weaker. That was not acceptable.

"Yes it is! You were supposed to stay within thirty yards, and you didn't, and then you come home looking like you got jumped by an ANBU squad! I demand to know what happened!" Naruto's voice was rising, and the boy loudly picked up his chair and moved it once again to face Sasuke.

Hoping to distract the other boy he countered with a question of his own. "Why did you bring me in here?" His anger was seeping into his voice, but he knew Naruto was too dense or too stubborn to pick up on it. Luckily, however, he was also easily distracted.

"Oh, I brought you here because it was closest, and moving you around a lot would only cause more damage. Not that you are doing anything to help yourself heal you stupid bastard." Naruto was grumbling about all his hard work going to waist over some one who was too full of himself to accept that he had to heal before moving around. That seemed to brink him back to his original point though, so much for distracting Naruto. "Now tell me what happened; I shouldn't have had to spend so much of my precious time bandaging you up in the first place."

He couldn't take it anymore, he wanted Naruto out now, he was done staring at a blatant reminder of his failure. "I told you; it's none of your fucking concern. Get out before I decide to make you look twice as bad as I do." He threw a pillow at the blond head to drive his point home, causing pain to shoot through him and several red spots to appear on his bandages.

The pillow hit Naruto straight in the face but he caught it before it dropped to the floor. "Fine be a prick, sorry for caring, next time you can just bleed to death on the floor for all I care." The yelling was enough to set his head to pounding, and it was followed by the sound of the door slamming.

With Naruto gone all the tension left him, along with all of his energy. He pulled the blanket up and over his head to block out the fading day light that streamed through one of the large windows. A smirk crossed his face as he realized that Naruto had only brought one pillow into the room when he had grabbed a comforter set for the bed, and had taken it with him.

* * *

**Orochi:** Oh my god, Kakashi rocks!

**DeiDei:** Thank you... thank you!

**Orochi:** This is the longest chapter yet!

**DeiDei:** Which reminds me, would you all want to leave us a review telling us what length of chapters do you like? Short, Medium, or Long? Or Orochi's personal favorite, epic? Drop us aline, un!


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